In an interview with BuzzFeed News, film director Michael Caton-Jones claims that he was fired from directing the 1998 movie B. Monkey after heated disagreements with Harvey Weinstein over the casting of Sophie Okonedo as the film's lead. Caton-Jones says Harvey didn't think Sophie was "fuckable" and he went on to recast the role with Asia Orgento as the replacement.

Quotes:“The basics of the deal was we were going to find an unknown and we were going to cast her as the lead in the film. There was extensive casting. We saw many, many girls, maybe 100 or so. And I ended up — I thought Sophie Okonedo would have been great for the part.”

“Harvey kept saying to me, ‘Do you think she is fuckable?’ That was what the deal was all the time. I said, ‘She is the best actress for the job, Harvey.’ And we started arguing about it. It was only when I said to Harvey, ‘Don’t screw up the casting of this film because you want to get laid,’ whereupon he went mental.”

“I was furious after being kicked off my film, and I told them all about what happened. I told them about the harassment claims, and I said 'Here is your quote: I don’t cast films according to Harvey Weinstein’s erection,’ and they just laughed."

Caton-Jones said the recasting boiled down to Harvey's belief that “Sophie Okonedo was not fuckable and that was it. Find someone who is.”

how did harvey get away with this for so many years? it’s so sad reading all these stories from actresses. besides them being payed off and etc. why do rich men think they can say these things to these woman or men?

Only if you view Harvey Weinstein to be some kind of worthy arbiter of beauty.

Otherwise, I think anyone with eyes can see Sophie Okonedo is a beautiful woman. And that Weinstein's personal tastes do not reflect on her beauty, but rather his vile and criminal casting practices.

As for Asia's role in this story, she did say that she is aware that she got roles through her "relationship" with Harvey, but that it was born of pressure and fear. I am certain it hurts her to read how this cost another actress in a different way. But that is the impact of Weinstein's behavior - no matter how a woman responded to his harassment, they would be hurt.